Very reflective props

[KoulasTV]

I ported a map from GMOD to SFM. Everything is fine, however there was some extremely high reflectivity on the walls and floors, to the point where it distorted the colors of the reflection. I fixed it by just doing a simple "Mat_specular 0". However, a good few of my props still remain reflective, they weren't like this before but have suddenly changed to being reflective again. All I want is an absolute fix for it. I assume it's the cubemaps for this map since it was made for Gmod and not SFM. But I am not too sure.

https://gyazo.com/e3f82b8f82840c421808a410ccbe3c18

[Marco Skoll]

Originally posted by HalfSkull:

I fixed it by just doing a simple "Mat_specular 0".

That's a workaround more than a fix.

I'd recommend doing a proper rebuild of the cubemaps. Personally I'd recommend the second method below, because although it's more effort, it actually fixes the problem rather than just removing it.

Originally posted by Zappy:

To remove the issue, you can load the map in Source Filmmaker, click "Windows" > "Console" at the top-left, type "BuildCubeMaps" into the console, and hit Enter to execute it. Then wait for the map to be reloaded. At this point, the viewport(s) should be frozen white, requiring you to reboot Source Filmmaker.
When you load the map from now on, the issue should be gone, with I think one sixth of one of the environment cube-maps looking like it should, and the rest either having the same sixth or just being black/non-existant. In either case, shiny things should no longer be eye-blindingly bright.
You might want to make a backup of the original map before doing this, just in case something breaks from it.


To fix the issue, you have to copy the map and all assets it uses over to some place either Portal 2 (which costs money) or Alien Swarm (which is free) can read.
Then load the map in either of those games, execute "BuildCubeMaps" in the game in question's console, let it build the environment cube-maps, and then copy the map file back over to Source Filmmaker afterwards.
When you load the map now, the issue should be fixed, with all of the environment cube-maps looking exactly like they're supposed to, which means that shiny things should be correctly-shiny.
You probably definitely want to make a backup of the original map before doing this, again in case something breaks from it.
(And no, you should not enter "BuildCubeMaps" into Source Filmmaker's console after this!)

[KoulasTV]

Originally posted by Zappy:

To remove the issue, you can load the map in Source Filmmaker, click "Windows" > "Console" at the top-left, type "BuildCubeMaps" into the console, and hit Enter to execute it. Then wait for the map to be reloaded. At this point, the viewport(s) should be frozen white, requiring you to reboot Source Filmmaker.
When you load the map from now on, the issue should be gone, with I think one sixth of one of the environment cube-maps looking like it should, and the rest either having the same sixth or just being black/non-existant. In either case, shiny things should no longer be eye-blindingly bright.
You might want to make a backup of the original map before doing this, just in case something breaks from it.


Thank you so much for sharing this with me, it completely fixed my issue. I really appreciate your help.

[Marco Skoll]

Originally posted by HalfSkull:

Thank you so much for sharing this with me, it completely fixed my issue. I really appreciate your help.

Not exactly. If that's the method you used, it effectively removes the map's cubemaps, which isn't really the same as fixing them, as it does mean that some models will not appear as they're supposed to.

This is why the second method is preferred, as it will actually rebuild correct reflection textures for any models that are trying to use them.